Truth To Power

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro looks at generation and operational efficiency of #renewableenergy within the Africa & the Middle East region from the IntelStor Future of Renewables #marketresearch Report. As of 2025, hydropower dropped to 62.4% market share with solar PV gaining momentum to 22.6% wind at 7.9% and geothermal at 3.3%. Solar PV and onshore wind will continue to take share away from hydropower. Hydropower leads on capacity factor across all technologies, but given the efficiency displayed by biogas, it is unsurprising that they have seen growth in capacity installed seeing some large projects come online in 2015 and 2021 which boosted generation. While hydropower has been able to maintain a capacity factor between 37 – 44%, technologies like biogas and even geothermal have shown a reduction in average capacity factor over time. This is curious and concerning since newer generations of technologies typically result in higher capacity factors and should at least allow newly installed capacity to sustain the average capacity factor of the entire installed base as older asset age. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the global #renewableenergy industry. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a deep dive from the IntelStor Future of Renewables #marketresearch Report to look at #renewableenergy within each global region, starting with Africa & the Middle East.   The Africa & Middle Eastern region represent the largest opportunity and need for renewable energy deployment in order to offset a staggering dependence on fossil fuels which still exists today. The region has been overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels for the past century. The most mature countries economically have benefited the most from the energy transition, with South Africa, Egypt, UAE and Ethiopia leading the way.   Hydropower still dominates, but it is poised to be overtaken by solar PV capacity installations in 2026 within the Africa & Middle East region. Annual capacity additions will continue to be driven by solar PV, but hydropower, onshore wind, geothermal, concentrated solar power and solid biofuels will all see growth in the next five years.   By 2030, solar PV should have more than 69 GW installed, up from 42 GW today, and another 15 GW of cumulative wind energy capacity, up from 11.8GW today. Even though the region has just under 43 GW of hydropower already, we only expect 3 GW of capacity growth in the next 5 years.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the global #renewableenergy industry.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro continues analysis from the IntelStor Future of Renewables #marketresearch Report to look at generation and efficiency, as well as finance data for all global regions. The world has generated a collective 10.795 petawatt hours of renewable energy as of the end of 2025 with 52.24% of global generation coming from Asia Pacific, 26% coming from the Americas, 18.97% coming from Europe and just 2.8% coming from Africa & the Middle East. By 2030, we expect to see a total generation of close to 13 petawatt hours with the distribution largely the same globally. Europe leads the world with the highest average capacity factor across all technologies, but also leads 7 of 12 renewable energy technology categories as well. The shift away from hydropower to more solar PV and wind energy has led to an overall reduction in capacity factors across the renewable technologies since 2000. Feed in tariffs (FiTs) have helped the world to see the rapid growth of renewable energy in the past 25 years. The average prices paid per region range from US$63.76/MWhr in the Americas to US$112.31/MWhr in Europe. Total expenditure of public finance for renewable energy technologies in the past 25 years has been US$396.6 billion, with 29.6% in the Americas 25.8% in Africa & Middle East, 22.3% in Asia Pacific and 22.3% in Europe. Curiously, solid biofuels have seen a surge in spending coming close to 50% of the total annual allocation. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the global #renewableenergy industry. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro dissect the costs to the US offshore wind sector from the stop work orders as well as the tariffs which have been enacted.   The financial impact of the US administration’s stop work orders on the construction of the five offshore wind farms in the USA have totaled more than $515 million. On top of this, the impact of tariffs imposed by the US administration has added another $1.06 billion to the total cost as well.   These ill-considered actions have driven total cost for these five projects to more than $28.4 billion and the average cost to more than $5 million per installed megawatt (MW). That average cost per MW is substantially higher than the average cost per MW in Europe during the early days of the offshore wind industry. The developers bear the burden of these costs overruns, and it reduces their margins.   Tariffs have added 4.4% to the cost of Revolution Wind, 4.95% to the cost of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, and 5.44% to the total cost of Sunrise Wind. The tariff impact on Empire Wind and Vineyard Wind was lower, but still appreciable at 2.15% and 0.58% respectively, because much of the component sourcing was already completed prior to the tariffs being enacted.   The stop work orders on these five projects have also contributed substantially to project costs with each developer incurring a cost increase equivalent to approx. 1.2 - 2.6% of the total project cost.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #offshorewind industry in the USA or #renewableenergy markets in any country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro returns to to the IntelStor Future of Renewables Report to get more analysis on the regional breakdown of the capacity, generation & finance data.   Solar PV leads the world in capacity installed, thanks to China’s 991 GW capacity bolstering the Asia Pacific region. Without China, solar PV still has over 340GW installed in the region due in part to a strong adoption rate in Vietnam, and neighboring southeast Asian countries.   Due to the growth in onshore wind in China and other global markets, that technology will end 2026 as second in cumulative installed capacity behind solar PV and overtaking hydropower. The Asia Pacific region is globally dominant due to China, but the Americas appear poised to overtake Europe within the next 5 years due to growth in solar PV, onshore as well as offshore wind as well.   APAC will see between 175 and 300 GW per year with China accounting for at least 70% of that total. Europe will see between 55 and 75GW of new capacity per year through 2030, with the Americas being reduced to 50 – 65 GW per year due to a pullback in the USA and limitations in other major markets in the region such as Brazil. Africa remains concerning with only 6 – 9 GW of capacity additions per year, and lacks investment in transmission infrastructure that is necessary to grow renewable energy capacity in the region.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy markets in any country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro discusses how the commercial implementation of new solar technology will unlock a repowering and efficiency revolution that could double the amount of solar used on the grid. Efficiency improvements in solar cells are being introduced all the time by various research entities and industry companies who have invested heavily in developing technologies with more robust performance. The latest approach is a perovskite-based cell. That is a calcium titanium oxide mineral which researches have been investigating for use in solar cells since the early 2010’s. China’s LONGi has seen efficiencies of between 34 – 35% more recently as they continue to develop 2-terminal monolithic perovskite based cells. With the bulk of the global solar capacity having been installed in the past 15 years, there will be a time within the next 5 – 10 years when solar PV asset repowering will need to be undertaken. Solar asset repowering should cost less than half that wind energy asset repowering, at approximately US$175,000 / MW versus US$425,000 / MW respectively. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy markets in any country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://www.intelstor.com/research-notes-subscription

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro continues a look into the future of the renewable energy market globally, looking at our power generation forecasts and the impact of public finance on renewable energy adoption rates. All renewable energy sources combined generate over 10.7 petawatt hours of power as of the end of 2025. By 2030 that will be close to 13 petawatt hours per year, an increase of more than 22.5%. In 2025, capacity factors have ranged from 11.26% for marine energy (ocean current and tidal), up to a global average of 54.56% for geothermal. Despite being inexpensive from a capital standpoint, solar PV only boasts a 14.87% capacity factor globally, and onshore wind saw a 24.23% capacity factor. More than US$529 billion in public funding has been spent on the global power generation sector in the past 25 years. Of that, US$396.6 billion, or 75% has been spent on renewables. Solar PV, biogas and onshore wind are the most capital efficient renewable power sources. Meanwhile, concentrated solar, geothermal and solid biofuels are the least capital efficient renewable power sources. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy markets in any country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/e98Z9qs3

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro kicks off a new series with a deep dive into the future of the renewable energy market globally, with the launch of our latest global market forecast. The most important outcome is that renewable energy is now 50% of the power generation mix. Capacity additions across all renewable energy technologies now total 4.89TW globally with solar PV leading the way, followed by hydropower then onshore wind. The world went from 25% renewables as part of the power generation mix in 2000 to just over 50% in only 25 years. IntelStor is also able to forecast that based on a 2 – 3% growth rate for renewable energy vs non-renewables, the world will eliminate fossil fuels before 2050 and could even eliminate dependence on nuclear technology for power generation as well. Solar PV leads the world with more than 2 TW installed globally as of the end of 2025. Onshore wind will overtake hydropower as the second largest renewable power generation source by capacity installed in 2026. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy markets in any country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://www.intelstor.com/subscriptions

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro digs into the ruling made yesterday by US Federal District Court Judge Patti Saris regarding the president’s executive order halting wind and solar permitting in the USA, and the impact on the US #offshorewind market. Since January when the executive order was issued and since April when Empire Wind saw their project construction halted, there have been six projects worth a total of more than $15 billion in project CapEx and another $10 billion in economic benefit which were stopped from active development. Project developers who were directly impacted by the executive order to halt permitting could now use this ruling to sue the US Federal Government. They can try to recoup the billions they have lost resulting from project delays, or an inability to proceed with construction due to the lack of issuance of permit(s) which are subject to federal jurisdiction. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro discusses the pending changes to the day-ahead market in California & Western US, and the impact that will have on renewable energy curtailments as well as capacity additions.   As we approach 2026, the CAISO led initiative to establish what they call the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) has PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric entering the market next year already. PGE has more than a gigawatt of #windenergy and solar to offer and PacifiCorp has more than 1.2 GW that could be fed into this new market.   In California alone, CAISO estimates that 64% of solar curtailments would be avoided and 61% of wind energy curtailments would be avoided in the EDAM. That translates into more than $1 billion in annual savings vs the WEIM (spot / intraday market).   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro concludes the analysis IntelStor has completed on #windenergy asset profitability & the prospects for the O&M market in the USA.   The average cost of maintenance for wind energy assets in the USA is $6.44 / MWhr produced. It’s pretty clear that as assets age they become more expensive to maintain. However, as assets age, the maintenance cost will escalate at different rates.   If we look at the average age of a drop in energy yield from a P50 to a P75, we tend to see an average in the USA of just under 11 years. This is partly due to asset management style, but also varies by OEM equipment. Some asset owners are deliberately running turbines into the ground to maximize their PTC revenue, then repower after 10 years.   Since that operational model is slowly going away with the loss of the PTCs by the end of 2027, owners are now looking at who shows the best resilience. We plotted that at IntelStor with a breakdown by OEM equipment, and the results were very interesting.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro continues a deep dive on some of the analysis IntelStor has completed on #windenergy asset profitability & the prospects for the O&M market in the USA.   A total of $63 billion has been doled out to wind energy IPPs since 1992. That investment by the US government has unlocked more than $750 billion in investment in wind energy the USA, including over $245 billion in CapEx on wind farm projects and the rest on factories to make components as well as services.   But there are some asset owners who have developed a dependence on PTCs. The independent power producers who have at least a gigawatt or more installed in the USA have a variety of approaches to how they leverage PTC revenue.   There are only 3 out of the top 30 asset owners when ranked by % of PTC revenue vs total revenue who have a profitability that is at or above the market average of just around $1.1 million per MW. Those who are above the profitability average, are owners who tend to have a financial partner invested in the portfolio.   An asset portfolio that is overly dependent on PTCs is less likely to achieve the highest levels of profitability in the USA. Consistently high PPAs have more of an influence on long-term sustained asset profitability.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro presents an update on some of the analysis IntelStor has completed on #windenergy asset profitability & the prospects for the O&M market in the USA.   A high power purchase agreement (PPA) price and a high net capacity factor (NCF) typically leads to high profitability. High NCF definitely has an impact on the energy yield benchmarking independent of PPA price.   But some assets with a high PPA price and poor technical performance can still turn a profit for an owner. While we make a big deal about technical performance, there are a number of projects which have fantastic technical performance but a low PPA price that is causing them to see a challenge to achieving a financial breakeven.   Now that PPA prices are trending up, partly due to the loss of the PTCs, this should have a beneficial impact on asset profitability.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro recaps the #WindSummit event in Houston, Texas last week and give an overview of the panel discussions and presentations on all the hottest O&M topics impacting the USA. It was a fantastic turnout for the first Wind Summit in the USA. There were more than 80 participants from 45 different companies. Over 30 speakers and panelists spent a day and a half discussing and debating the hottest O&M challenges we face today. We want to ensure that these events continue to maintain the quality of the discussion that was seen last week in Houston. The experts who were on the stage were there because of their expertise in the industry and technology, and not because their company sponsored the event. This event wasn’t run by a political lobby group, and our main focus with this Wind Summit event series is to provide asset owners, operators, service companies and the supply chain with knowledge they can implement to operate better & at a lower cost. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://www.intelstor.com/store/Research-Notes-Subscription-p127663810

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a look at the anti-wind disinformation headlines in the United Kingdom and Spain. The UK saw wind energy curtailment payments of £1.3 million on a single day last week. Wind energy gets blamed for these payments despite the fact that wind energy is operating efficiently and the real problem is lack of adequate grid capacity as well as limited options for energy storage. According to our own analysis, UK ratepayers would be spending almost four times that amount to leave old coal plants online, amounting to £3.8 billion in coal operating costs instead of £1 billion in wind energy constraint payments. Average energy storage costs in the UK are £580,000 per MW in CapEx and operational costs are ~ £2.50 / MWhr. 6000 MWhr of storage would have facilitated the offtake of almost 100% of the #windpower. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the UK, Spain, or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro showcases the latest operations and maintenance cost forecast, and how OEMs, ISPs and asset operators can determine how much they can expect to spend on component repairs.   In 2025, the #windenergy industry is poised to spend more than $2.92 billion on wind turbine repairs in the USA. Blades contribute the most at 37% of the overall, and blades now total more than $1 billion in annual cost.   Lightning damage is the largest cost center, with more than $255.7 million in repairs being undertaken in 2025. That is poised to escalate to more than $333 million by the end of 2034.   Blade root failures are now the second most expensive repair for wind turbines, with more than $222.3 million in annual costs. Root insert separation is a well- known issue on certain makes and models.   For turbines which are in the 1 – 2 MW class, lightning damage is the number 1 issue. Looking at the 2 – 3 MW class, they have more incurred annual cost from fatigue failure in the root as a larger blade repair issue than lightning damage based on data for the 2025 installed base.   Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.   This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a deep dive into the profitability of #windenergy assets in the USA on the back of the updated annual release of production data from the independent power producers via the EIA. The US wind energy market is now seeing an average of more than $1.13 million per installed MW of net profit through the planned end of asset life. Across the entire installed base, asset owners who have GE Vernova #windturbines see the highest net profit per MW at more than $1.25 million. Meanwhile, asset owners with Siemens Gamesa turbines show the lowest overall maintenance cost per megawatt hour produced over the lifetime of the wind farm, as well as the slowest degradation of performance over time. Owners with Vestas and Nordex Group turbines show a more traditional increase in relative maintenance cost over time as asset technical performance degrades. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a look at a recent revelation regarding the business activities of the US president and his family who are profiting from #windenergy while simultaneously bashing it and intentionally undermining the industry. The Canadian Breaks wind farm was commissioned back in 2019. The original developers and owners of the project applied for production tax credits. Since being commissioned in 2019, the wind farm has racked up more than $39.1 million in PTCs. That wind farm powers the Vega Data Center, recently brought online by Hut 8, and the facility in Texas will be used to mine American Bitcoin, a joint venture between Hut 8, and the sons of the US President, Eric & Donald Jr. as well as Gryphon Digital Mining. Is it acceptable to publicly bash wind energy, but still have your family profit from it? That wind farm wouldn’t exist without millions in production tax credits they have received. The bitcoin mining operation wouldn’t exist without the inexpensive #windpower they are supplied. We leave it to you to decide. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro shares a preview of the upcoming #WindSummit event in Houston, Texas this October. Topics will include: * Impact of PTC loss on project repowering or refurbishment  * Asset profitability and maximizing payback  * Mitigating lightning damage  * Access to spare parts  * Managing OEM and ISP relationships  * The future of CMS technologies  * Impact of evolving insurance requirements  * Root failures, leading edge erosion and other issues are causing spiraling blade repair costs  * Asset life extension  * Balance of plant  * Site safety  * Up tower repairs Speakers will include Daniel DePonte from RNWBL®, Alli Gallaher from NextEra Energy Resources, Anthony Martin from AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc., Heinrich Dyck from Phoenix Contact USA, Rosemary Barnes from Pardalote, John McKay, MBA from RNWBL® and Søren Kellenberger from CNC Onsite A/S, with panel moderation and support by Allen Hall and Joel Saxum from Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA, or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro provide an analysis of the smoke screen the US government is running on #renewableenergy, and what the industry can do about it. When governments behave like the US administration in choosing to behave towards the trillion-dollar renewable energy industry in the USA, it does not provide confidence to investors who expect a return on their investments. more than $50 billion in capital that would have been spent in the USA over the past 7 months that has now made it’s way to the UK, Canada, Poland, Denmark and Germany. For someone who seems keen to portray himself as an expert business man, that’s not so clever. Since the inception of the production and investment tax credits, more than ~$160 billion of taxpayer money has been committed by the government over the past 32 years. That has unlocked more than $250 billion in CapEx for onshore wind energy project development in the USA, as well as $100 billion in capital investments for domestic production of #windturbine components. It’s also unlocked more than $300 billion in capital in solar project development and factories to produce racks and electrical systems. Energy storage is already at $65 billion and growing according to IntelStor. Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world. This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn